Michael Howe

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Michael Howe
Republican Party
Candidate, North Dakota Secretary of State
North Dakota Secretary of State
Tenure
2023 - Present
Term ends
2027
Years in position
3
Predecessor: Al Jaeger (R)
Prior offices
North Dakota House of Representatives District 22
Years in office: 2016 - 2022
Predecessor: Peter F. Silbernagel (R)
Compensation
Base salary
$136,890
Elections and appointments
Last election
June 9, 2026
Next election
November 3, 2026
Education
Bachelor's
North Dakota State University, 2010
Personal
Profession
Business executive
Contact
Official website
Official X
Official Instagram
Official YouTube
Campaign website
Personal Facebook
Personal LinkedIn

Michael Howe (Republican Party) is the North Dakota Secretary of State. He assumed office on January 1, 2023. His current term ends on January 1, 2027.

Howe (Republican Party) is running for re-election for North Dakota Secretary of State. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026. He advanced from the Republican primary on June 9, 2026.

Biography

Michael Howe lives in West Fargo, North Dakota.[1] Howe earned a B.S. in broadcast journalism and mass communications from North Dakota State University in 2010. His career experience includes working as a managing partner of Howe Seed Farms, the director of legislative affairs and communications director of the North Dakota Corn Growers Association, and a legislative assistant with the U.S. House of Representatives.[2]

Political career

Below is a list of offices within Ballotpedia’s scope. Offices outside of that scope will not be listed. If an update is needed and the office is within our scope, please contact us.

Howe's political career includes the following offices:

Elections

2026

See also: North Dakota Secretary of State election, 2026

North Dakota Secretary of State election, 2026 (June 9 Democratic primary)

North Dakota Secretary of State election, 2026 (June 9 Republican primary)

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for North Dakota Secretary of State

Incumbent Michael Howe (R) and Ryan Braunberger (D) are running in the general election for North Dakota Secretary of State on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Michael Howe
Michael Howe (R)
Image of Ryan Braunberger
Ryan Braunberger (D)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for North Dakota Secretary of State

Ryan Braunberger (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for North Dakota Secretary of State on June 9, 2026.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Ryan Braunberger
Ryan Braunberger
 
99.8
 
34,142
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2%
 
62

There were no incumbents in this race. Vote totals may change until results are certified. Source

Total votes: 34,204
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for North Dakota Secretary of State

Incumbent Michael Howe (R) advanced from the Republican primary for North Dakota Secretary of State on June 9, 2026.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Michael Howe
Michael Howe
 
99.6
 
74,039
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.4%
 
329

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Vote totals may change until results are certified. Source

Total votes: 74,368
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

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2022

See also: North Dakota Secretary of State election, 2022

General election

General election for North Dakota Secretary of State

Michael Howe defeated Jeffrey Powell and Charles Tuttle in the general election for North Dakota Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Michael Howe
Michael Howe (R)
 
63.2
 
147,816
Image of Jeffrey Powell
Jeffrey Powell (D) Candidate Connection
 
27.5
 
64,254
Image of Charles Tuttle
Charles Tuttle (Independent)
 
9.2
 
21,517
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
241

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 233,828
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for North Dakota Secretary of State

Jeffrey Powell advanced from the Democratic primary for North Dakota Secretary of State on June 14, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jeffrey Powell
Jeffrey Powell Candidate Connection
 
99.7
 
21,897
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
57

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 21,954
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for North Dakota Secretary of State

Michael Howe defeated Marvin Lepp in the Republican primary for North Dakota Secretary of State on June 14, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Michael Howe
Michael Howe
 
67.6
 
44,790
Image of Marvin Lepp
Marvin Lepp Candidate Connection
 
32.1
 
21,280
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
163

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 66,233
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: North Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 22 (2 seats)

Incumbent Michael Howe and incumbent Brandy Pyle defeated Jodi Meisch and Will Thompson in the general election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 22 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Michael Howe
Michael Howe (R)
 
34.3
 
6,824
✔
Image of Brandy Pyle
Brandy Pyle (R)
 
34.1
 
6,780
Image of Jodi Meisch
Jodi Meisch (D)
 
17.1
 
3,414
Image of Will Thompson
Will Thompson (D) Candidate Connection
 
14.5
 
2,881
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
11

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 19,910
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 22 (2 seats)

Jodi Meisch and Will Thompson advanced from the Democratic primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 22 on June 9, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jodi Meisch
Jodi Meisch
 
51.5
 
886
✔
Image of Will Thompson
Will Thompson Candidate Connection
 
42.5
 
731
 Other/Write-in votes
 
6.1
 
105

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,722
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 22 (2 seats)

Incumbent Brandy Pyle and incumbent Michael Howe advanced from the Republican primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 22 on June 9, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Brandy Pyle
Brandy Pyle
 
49.2
 
1,802
✔
Image of Michael Howe
Michael Howe
 
48.6
 
1,779
 Other/Write-in votes
 
2.2
 
81

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 3,662
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: North Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the North Dakota House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 14, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 11, 2016. Incumbents Wesley Belter (R) and Peter Silbernagel (R) did not seek re-election.

Michael Howe and Brandy Pyle defeated Allan Peterson and Marijo Peterson in the North Dakota House of Representatives District 22 general election.[3][4]

North Dakota House of Representatives, District 22 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Michael Howe 31.90% 4,890
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Brandy Pyle 32.42% 4,970
     Democratic Allan Peterson 17.46% 2,677
     Democratic Marijo Peterson 18.22% 2,794
Total Votes 15,331
Source: North Dakota Secretary of State


Allan Peterson and Marijo Peterson were unopposed in the North Dakota House of Representatives District 22 Democratic primary.[5][6]

North Dakota House of Representatives, District 22 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Allan Peterson
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Marijo Peterson


Michael Howe and Brandy Pyle were unopposed in the North Dakota House of Representatives District 22 Republican primary.[5][6]

North Dakota House of Representatives, District 22 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Michael Howe
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Brandy Pyle

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Michael Howe has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Michael Howe asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Michael Howe, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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You can ask Michael Howe to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing michael@howefornd.com.

Email

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Michael Howe did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Howe's campaign website stated the following:

“

MICHAEL'S PLAN FOR NORTH DAKOTA

SECURE OUR ELECTIONS

OPEN THE DOOR TO EVERY NEW BUSINESS

STRENGTHEN THE ECONOMY

CUT RED TAPE[7]

”
—Michael Howe's campaign website (2022)[8]

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Michael Howe did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Michael Howe campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2022North Dakota Secretary of StateWon general$177,762 $0
2020North Dakota House of Representatives District 22Won general$32,050 N/A**
2016North Dakota House of Representatives, District 22Won $14,150 N/A**
Grand total$223,962 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

State legislative tenure

Committee assignments

2021-2022

Howe was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Howe was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards, State legislative scorecards in North Dakota

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

In 2022, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the North Dakota Legislative Assembly in 2021.

In 2020, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the North Dakota Legislative Assembly in 2019.

In 2018, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the North Dakota Legislative Assembly in 2017.

See also

2026 Elections

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External links

Candidate

North Dakota Secretary of State
  • Website
    		•

    Officeholder

    North Dakota Secretary of State
  • Website
  • X
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
    		•

    Personal

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
    		•

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Michael Howe for Secretary of State, "Meet Michael," accessed December 6, 2022
    2. ↑ LinkedIn, "Michael Howe," accessed December 6, 2022
    3. ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "2016 General Election Contest/Candidate List," accessed August 21, 2016
    4. ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "Official Results General Election - November 8, 2016," accessed November 28, 2016
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 North Dakota Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Contest/Candidate List," accessed April 13, 2016
    6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 North Dakota Secretary of State, "Official Results Primary Election - June 14, 2016," accessed August 2, 2016
    7. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    8. ↑ Michael Howe, “Home,” accessed October 31, 2022

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    Al Jaeger (R)     		North Dakota Secretary of State
    2023-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    Peter F. Silbernagel (R)     		North Dakota House of Representatives District 22
    2016-2022    		 Succeeded by
    -


    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Michael_Howe&oldid=11846419"